Strength and Core exercises to prevent neck & shoulder pain.

There are lots of "natural" sugars, and as I said before how do you know the ones to avoid?  Here is my guide to the ones I try to avoid and why. Evaporated Cane Juice The new kid on the block of "natural" sugars.  It is a sugar syrup from partially refined sugar which is very similar to ordinary sugar.  The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has warned of mislabelling with this product. Fructose This no longer has the goodness and fibre of fruit.  Unlike sucrose and glucose it won't spike your insulin levels, but it will cause weight gain around the middle.  It also interferes with the production of hormones related to hunger and satiety (feeling full) and hence increases appetite.  On top of this it gets converted to unhealthy fats e.g. LDL ("bad" cholesterol) and triglycerides.  Remember fructose is fine when naturally occuring withing fruit but I recommend avoiding it when its a white powder added to food. Agave This is essentially up to 90% refined fructose (see above).  There is no way of distinguishing between commercially and traditionally produced produced products. Molasses This has the least amount of sugar and the highest level of vitamins and minerals.  Half its sugar content is fructose and glucose in equal amounts while the other half is sucrose.  So it will spike your insulin levels which causes the body to create fat.  It may contain high levels of pesticides and other chemicals use in the processing. Xylitol Sold as a white powder considered natural as it occurs in plants but needs a lot of refining.  Low in calories, it doesn't spike insulin levels so useful for diabetics.  It is on my avoid list because it requires a lot of processing to produce and because it ferments in the gut causing diarrhoea and bloating. Sorbitol Used in foods for diabetics at it triggers little or no insulin production.  I would avoid it as it is heavily processed as it is hard on the digestive system just like Xylitol. Honey A simple sugar up to 40% glucose and fructose so it affects your blood sugar levels very quickly.  If you must use it, I mix it with lemon and ginger when I have a sore throat, cold or flu then by organic and I perfer manuka for its healing properties. References Natural Alternatives to Sugar by Dr M Glenville (Lifestyle Press 2016)    

Following on form last week's article where I explained that I believe in complementary medicine rather than alternative medicine, I wanted to share some scientific evidence. Between June 2015 to February 2016 a randomised clinical trail was carried out in the US looking at how effective reflexology was in assisting patients with colorectal cancer who received chemo radiotherapy.  60 patients were split into 3 groups.  The first group received massage using classical massage techniques.  The second group received reflexology.  The final group, the control group, only received hospital standard care.  All patients received were provided with the same clinic routine care. The researchers collectd data using an introductory form and the European Organisation for Research and Treatmend of Cancer quality of life questerionaires (C30 & CR29). The first group who receive classical massage found it was

• effective in reducing pain levels
• effective in reducing distension incidence

• effecitve in reducing pain levels
• effective in reducing fatigue levels
• lower incidence of distension
• lower incidence of urinary frequency
• improved quality of life

In previous posts in this series I have discussed the nature of pain, and how is evidence for the reflexology can be used for acute pain.  In this article I want to discuss reflexology and chronic pain, as back pain is the most common chronic pain and it effects 8 out of 10 people in their lifetime, I will focus on studies that have looked at chronic lower back pain. An initial pilot study was carried out entitle Reflexology in the management of low back pain: a pilot randomised controlled trial by F Quinn, CM Hughes and GD Baxter.  the results of which was published (see Complement Ther Med. 2008 Feb;16(1):3-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2007.05.001. Epub 2007 Jun 27.)  Participants suffering from non-specific lower back pain were recurited and randomly assigned to a reflexology or sham group.  Each patient received either a 40 minute reflexology treatment or a sham treatment according to which group they were in once per week for 6 consecutive weeks.  The key measure of success was the measurement of pain on the visual analogue scale supplemented by the McGill pain questionnaire,  Roland-Morris disability questionnaire, and SF-36 health survey. Outcome measures were performed at baseline, week 6, week 12 and week 18.  The results incidicated that reflexology may have a positive effect on Lower Back Pain. This initial trail was followed up by a more comprehensive study of times were nurses were the patients, nursing is in the top ten professions for high incidence of lower back pain.  Again this study was a double bind trial, and the same measurements of pain were used as in the trail. The study recruited 50 male and 50 female nurses with chronic lower back pain to take part in the trail.  40 minute sessions of reflexology or sham treatements were performed three times a week for two weeks.  The study concluded Reflexology can be effective in reducing the severity of chronic back pain, i.e. it is able to reduce pain from moderate to mild.  (see The Irainian Journal of Nursing Times (reference Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2012 Mar-Apr; 17(3): 239–243.), focused on back pain in nurses) In conclusion it is clear that while the number and size of the studies are small there is a clear trend which demonstrates the effectiveness of Reflexology in helping to reduce pain levels especially in cases of lower back pain.  Remember I offer a 15 minute taster Reflexology session for anyone who would like to try reflexology.